Merlin: The Fourth Daughter
by TheTickoftheClock
Summary: "Merlin, take a look at her, will you? We found her in the bandit's cavern." Gwaine set her down beside the fire and Merlin pulled back the top of the cloak to reveal a face with blue eyes, and black hair. She was bruised, and her eyes were empty, but past that was the face of someone familiar. "Alyres?"
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! It's Dezzy. With another story.**

**Yes, I've discovered the wonderful show, Merlin. And, I'm in love.  
**

**But don't flip! I'm still continuing all of my MR stories!  
**

**Any Merlin watcher's reading this: Uther's wife, Igrayne, (in my story anyways) was only unable to conceive any more children after her 7th child, a boy. In the real story of King Arthur, Igrayne had 3 girls, and an unspecified amount of boys. The seventh child is the baby that this story is about. Arthur was born nine months after she had Alyres _(Uh-leer-ez)_: She could not conceive because it was too early to grow another child, but Igrayne couldn't tell Uther that.  
**

******And now, without further ado, please welcome my first Merlin fanfiction!**

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**Merlin: The Fourth Daughter  
**

**Prologue  
**

Igrayne bore 3 known daughters, and 4 known sons, Arthur among them. But besides Morgawse, Elaine, and Morgana, Igrayne bore a fourth daughter, in secret, for she was married to Uther when she had the child out of wedlock. She went on a year trip to visit her family and gave birth in secret, accompanied by her sister and her nurse-maid.

After giving birth, she knew that she must hide her daughter. She traveled to the small town of Ealdor in Cenred's kingdom, seeking a woman with a child recently born, in hopes of feeding her daughter. She found one with a kind face, and a child of a few months, and chose her to take care of her daughter. The woman was reluctant, but the Queen told her that she would pay her to keep the secret; make up a story and tell any villagers that ask. The woman, Hunith, eventually agreed. Igrayne told Hunith that her daughter was to be called Alyres, for the sky of the night she was born, beautiful and moonlit, with shining stars.

When Igrayne reached her untimely death, Hunith was left without support for two children. She had a happy home, and an amazing son, and a beautiful almost daughter, and she felt blessed to have them. She was heartbroken, however, when Merlin was turning seven years, and Alyres not yet so, Bandits came through the small town of Ealdor and stole Alyres away.

For many years, Alyres was used as a servant, an ill treated, bruised and weak servant, given a room with a mud floor for sleeping in. When she grew older, however, they used her for much more horrible and disgusting things, and was left on the ground, bloodied and unable to stand up, wondering what she had done to deserve the horrible treatment.

_I must be a terrible person,_ Alyres thought. Most nights, after a meager meal of muddied water, and rotten bread, and rarely a rotten piece of fruit, at any hour, one of the sick men would come in and use her body for his pleasure.

Sometimes, it was hard for her to keep hope (faith was long gone) that one day someone would come back for her. She wanted a safe, secure home where she could get warm by a fire and snuggle close to her mother. She missed her mother... Her scent, her feel. Of course, she knew that her real mother was dead, Hunith told her at a young age, but if Hunith was the only mother she ever had, she was happy.

Laying on the mud of the floor, cold swept into her skin like it always did when someone opened the door to her cell, and she didn't have the strength to look. She was tired, and hope was farther than distant, just barely visible over that dark horizon of desperation.

But it was not the usual routine: she was picked up off of the cold ground and wrapped in a warm material, and hastily carried somewhere that she had no idea of.

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Arthur watched as Sir Gwaine held a body covered in the red of Camelot, and he checked for all his men. Percival, Elyan, Leon, and of course, Gwaine. Merlin was absent, but Merlin was always missing from the picture at some point. Gwaine marched closer with the body and Arthur raised his eyebrows in question.

"Sir Gwaine, who are you carrying?" Arthur moved his horse closer. "We came on this trip to see if the suspicions of the smugglers were true, not to take hostages," Arthur half-joked. Sir Gwaine smiled a little.

"King Arthur, I found a woman in one of the cells, barely alive. I think we should have Gaius take a look at her." Arthur nodded solemnly.

"Well, we won't be back to Camelot until tomorrow afternoon at some point. Merlin can look at her." Right on cue, Merlin walked into the clearing, looking positively dirty.

"What's that?" He said. "Who am I looking at?" Clueless, as always, Merlin trudged forward and hopped up onto his horse. Coming up beside Arthur, he asked what was going on.

"Well, Merlin, Gwaine has found a girl most likely on the brink of death." Merlin frowned at his lightness of words and turned to see Gwaine, getting on his horse while Percival waited with body shaped red material in his hands.

"Alright," Merlin said.

"Men," Arthur started, "We make camp for the night. Let's tread East, and head for Camelot in the morning." Arthur turned back around and made way to a good enough camp for them.

Later, the small clearing holds hungry knights and an impatient King Arthur. Merlin finished cooking supper and then made his way to Gwaine.

"Where is she? I might have a look while there's still minimal light left." Gwaine nodded and stood to pick up the body behind him.

"She doesn't have much on, so, don't look too hard." Gwaine smiled. He set her down beside the fire and Merlin pulled back the top of the cloak to reveal a face with empty blue eyes, and black hair. She was bruised, and her eyes were empty, but past that was the face of someone familiar.

"Alyres?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! It's Dezzy. With another story.**

**So, here is the second chapter! I hope you like it!**

_**Any Merlin watcher's reading this: Uther's wife, Igrayne, (in my story anyways) was only unable to conceive any more children after her 7th child, a boy. In the real story of King Arthur, Igrayne had 3 girls, and an unspecified amount of boys. The seventh child is the baby that this story is about. Arthur was born nine months after she had Alyres (**_**Uh-leer-ez**_**): She could not conceive because it was too early to grow another child, but Igrayne couldn't tell Uther that.**_

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**Merlin: The Fourth Daughter  
**

**Chapter 2  
**

"What's that?" Percival asked.

Merlin smiled brightly, and then his smile faltered. "What's happened to her?"

"Happened to who?" Arthur asked moodily. "Do you know her?"

"Well, I did. She lived with my mother and I when I was little." Merlin frowned. "I think. This might not be her," he said, not wanting to think that this broken body was Alyres. "It's just a coincidence." Merlin looked away, but found his eyes traveling back towards her face with hurt and curiosity.

"My mother took her in from a woman who couldn't take care of her. She was taken from our house when I was seven, by smugglers of some sort."

"I'm sorry, Merlin." Elyan gave Merlin a pat on the back.

"Don't be," Merlin said, "It's not her." He chose to disregard the small birthmark under her ear that said otherwise. To Gwaine and Sir Leon, it was blatantly obvious that Merlin was lying to himself. After all, who _would_ want to believe that the girl you'd grown up with for several years was almost at the point of death?

Arthur had had enough of Merlin's pity party. "Merlin, do what you can to help the girl, and then you can clean this pile of dishes." He motioned to the stack of silver bowls beside Percival and then started making up his bed.

Merlin nodded, and grabbed his bag. He had minimal supplies, for bandaging wounds and the like. He took out all that he had and laid it out before him. He cleaned visible wounds on her face, and above her chest, and then looked at her legs.

They were a bit scratched, he could see that, but he couldn't see much else under the dirt. He went to find a brook, or creek, or even a puddle, so that he could get some water to wash her off better. He came back and took a cloth from his bag. Once he started on her feet, the dirt came off easily, but after that it was harder to get it off.

He rung out the cloth and continued on her knees. He rung out the cloth once again, and peered at the water. It was dirty, and _red_. Merlin gasped quietly. He looked over the clean parts of her legs, but the only damage done was a few bruises and a couple cuts. Surely that much blood couldn't have come from that...

Merlin cleaned a bit farther up her legs, and when he rung out the cloth again, the water was bright with blood. Merlin hit realization like a stone wall, and his eyes closed. He shook his head and stood up. Turning around he walked away with a swift pace.

"Merlin. Merlin! Where are you going?" Arthur yelled after him. Merlin didn't hear him.

"Sire, perhaps you should lay off him. He just found the girl he grew up with in a bandits cavern with blood on her thighs." Sir Leon suggested. He'd watched Merlin carefully while he tried to figure out what this girl meant to him. Surely she wasn't more than a friend.

"Actually, I found her," said Sir Gwaine, raising a finger. Elyan looked at Gwaine with a face that said, "Shut up, you idiot." Sir Leon chose to ignore him and stare at Arthur who got up. And then sat back down.

"Oh, fine, the cry-baby. You know what, he needs to grow up." Arthur said, completely insensitively. Gwaine looked up to the sky and shook his head. _What on Earth does Arthur _feel_ in his heart but love for himself?_ He loved Arthur, but sometimes, he needed to do a little bit of growing up himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello readers! **

**So, this is a notice if you would like to still read my stuff. Due to some identity issues with my account lately, and wanting to start over, I have created a new account, I will not delete this one, and I will still read any reviews I get, I will check whenever I get on to my other account, and there has been a bunch of other stuff that has caused me to do this as well. **

**So, as I'm starting over, I thought you might want to follow me. If you do, you can find me at ChemicallyBurned. I have a blog to go along with my new account, where you see previews and news updates for new stories and new chapters. I may move two of my stories that I've loved, and I have one story already started, though it hasn't been uploaded to ****fan fiction yet. I will be releasing a release date and a small preview on my blog, as well as pictures or anything I do for my stories. You will be up to date on any of my stories if you follow my blog, and you can get exclusive information. The summary for my upcoming story has already been released on my blog, and more is coming soon.**

**chemiburned dot blogspot dot com**

**I hope you at least check it out, and maybe try to see when my new story will come out, and which two I will be carrying over onto my new account. Thanks for taking the time to read this. ;)**

**~Dez (Chemi)**


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